This morning I was reading 1 Peter 1 and ran across the following statements:

You are being protected by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. You rejoice in this, though now for a short time you have had to struggle in various trials so that the genuineness of your faith — more valuable than gold, which perishes though refined by fire — may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 1:5-7

What stuck out to me in particular is what Peter says here about the purpose, or the “so that,” of Christian trials. Scripture here seems to say that we have to face trials in order that our genuine faith, withstanding all such testing, will actually result in our praise when Christ returns. We suffer so that we can shine.

I realize that this may sound a bit off at first, but there are other Biblical examples of this kind of rationale for suffering, at least for some of it. Take Job, for instance. In Job, we ultimately see God allowing Satan to inflict great suffering to Job’s vindication. By the end of it, Job has refused to curse God and die, as his wife suggested. He may have gotten harsh with God and threw around some blame, but he never gave up or repudiated his trust. When all of the rest is concluded, God commends Job and rewards him for his faithfulness over and against any of Job’s friends. God’s point to Satan from the beginning was that Job’s faith was real, and could stand up to trial, and this claim was vindicated to Job’s glory.

The theme like this of God glorifying His suffering people in fact permeates all of Scripture. He did this to Joseph, to Moses and the Israelites, to David, to Daniel, to many others, and ultimately to Jesus Christ (who, we must recall, is every bit as human as you or I). When God’s people patiently wait and suffer what they must, trusting Him through the whole of it, He uses the occasion to reward them and bring praise and honor to the virtues which He has given them.

To some extent, we recognize such a possibility even in a non-theological way. This is the way that the best stories work, isn’t it? The greatest heroes, the ones who we love and praise and celebrate the most, are not the ones who stayed in their Hobbit holes and enjoyed a simple life with a peaceful death. Instead, the heroes who receive the most glory are those who make it through many sufferings, who face the toughest obstacles and most heartbreaking setbacks. Frodo and Sam are renowned, but not the old Gaffer.

Of course, it is not obvious that real life has to work this way. After all, this glory is highly contingent on two things: the sufferings being known to all, and the would-be heroes actually making it all the way to success. In this life neither of those seem very certain. You may feel like asking, “Will anyone ever know what I have suffered? And will I even make it?” But this is where we have from God precious promises to our comfort. For He declares to us that all of our patience and faith in suffering (and all other good works) will be publically known on the last day:

Therefore don’t judge anything prematurely, before the Lord comes, who will both bring to light what is hidden in darkness and reveal the intentions of the hearts. And then praise will come to each one from God.

1 Corinthians 4:5 (cf. 1 Cor. 3:13, Lk. 12:2-3)

He also promises that He will carry us through to the very end, so that we know how our quest will conclude even in the midst of it:

Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little. The dominion belongs to Him forever. Amen.

1 Peter 5:10-11

So on the basis of these guarantees from God Himself we know that glory awaits us on the other side of suffering.

You may also wonder, though, how this can be? Has God not said, “I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another” (Isa. 42:8)? How can God glorify us at all, whether through suffering or by any other means? The answer to this, as with so many things, is found in Jesus Christ. God can glorify man because there was a Man—is a Man—who has the right to the whole glory of God. A human being from Nazareth named Jesus holds the name above every name, the glory of the only-begotten Son of the Father (John 1:14). We get to share in His glory because He is our Brother, our Lord, and our Bridegroom. We are united with Him by our baptism into His death and resurrection.

This brings us the ultimate promise and comfort. Because we belong to Christ, we will share His glory after sharing His sufferings. We have entered His story, not our own, and get to participate in His happy ending. Or, as Paul would say it:

So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs — heirs of God and coheirs with Christ — seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.